WEB DESK: Researchers from the Breakthrough Listen project have concluded that the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS shows no signs of extraterrestrial technology, despite an extensive search for technosignatures.
The team conducted a comprehensive effort to detect potential “technosignatures,” or radio signals that could indicate intelligent life, but found no credible transmissions from the comet, even at extremely faint levels of 100 milliwatts. 3I/ATLAS is notable because it is one of the few known objects originating beyond our solar system, providing a rare opportunity for scientific investigation. Discovered in July 2025 by the NASA-backed ATLAS telescope survey in Chile, the comet zoomed past Earth at a distance of roughly 270 million kilometers (170 million miles).
Interest in the object intensified after Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb pointed out peculiar features seen in Hubble Space Telescope images. Loeb suggested that the comet’s distinctive long, sunward “anti-tail” and a three-pronged jet pattern might hint at an artificial origin, rather than typical cometary behavior.
To explore these claims, scientists utilized the Green Bank Telescope for a five-hour observation session on December 18. They employed an “on-off” switching technique to mitigate interference from terrestrial sources such as satellites and aircraft.Signals indicative of technology—usually narrowband radio emissions that stand out as sharp spikes in frequency—were the primary focus. However, the scans yielded no such signals.
This effort echoes past excitement surrounding ʻOumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019, both of which prompted speculation about their origins. Nonetheless, NASA officials maintain that 3I/ATLAS is a natural object.
Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s associate administrator, reaffirmed during a briefing in November that “this is a comet,” citing its trajectory and observed activity patterns as evidence. While the Green Bank observations provide valuable insights, they do not constitute a definitive search. Experts acknowledge that strong signals could occasionally mask weaker ones, and that variations in image processing might influence the appearance of jets and features on the comet.For now, 3I/ATLAS remains just another silent visitor passing through our cosmic neighborhood.
